Bryan:
I agree with you that specificity about roles is desirable, but I don't
think transcribed statements of responsibility are the answer. Were you
aware that RDA includes a role vocabulary of 124 possibilities? See:
http://metadataregistry.org/schemaprop/list/schema_id/4.html
These are set up in RDA so that the role is not an additional attribute
on a general statement, but integral to the statement. In XML it might
look like this:
<rdarole:director agentID="rda.person/2936">Allen, Woody</rdarole:director>
The agentID could link to an external (authority file) or internal (RDA
person) description that could supply additional information for
indexing or display, including alternative forms of name, affiliation, etc.
This is much more in line with the ways the rest of the world operates,
and gives us many more options for indexing and display.
Diane
Bryan Baldus wrote:
> On Monday, March 16, 2009 8:32 AM, Ross Singer wrote:
>
>> What is this an argument for?
>>
>
> That translating headings into "Author" rather than retaining a statement of responsibility is not always a simple solution. It's an argument against the practice seen in several systems of displaying a programmatically uninverted heading with a label "Author" or appended to the end of the title with "by", making up a statement of responsibility rather than using the one transcribed from the item (leading to the appearance that the book is "by" someone rather than "edited by" or "compiled by" or "retold by", or "defendant,"). Another instance where this might look odd would be where the item is in a non-English language but the computer rearranges/creates its own statement of responsibility using English "by" rather than the transcribed foreign words indicating the function of those who are associated with the work.
>
> I'd agree that something should be done to improve the way the statement of responsibility is coded, like making it have hyperlinked (or otherwise associated) names to the authorized form of name.
>
> Bryan Baldus
> Cataloger
> Quality Books Inc.
> The Best of America's Independent Presses
> 1-800-323-4241x402
> bryan.baldus_at_quality-books.com
>
>
Received on Mon Mar 16 2009 - 10:19:36 EDT